In the previous article, I introduced the concept of a Project Support Office to act as the “nerve centre” for projects coordination in an organisation. Organisations traditionally have developed good capabilities around day-to-day operational functions, but when it comes to managing projects the maturity levels are generally low.
Managers with very little training in project management are required to manage strategic projects who, in addition, report to Executives who are also untrained. To compound the problem, the organization also lacks the required processes and procedures to support the project teams.
For an organization to improve projects success rate, we need to realize that just like accounts, and HR, competent processes are required to support the profession. We need competent and trained project managers to deliver projects efficiently.
Having a projects office that supports the organizations project community with the project management methodologies, skills, processes and procedures goes a long way in enhancing the project management maturity levels of the organization. A projects office acts as a service centre to project managers and projects monitoring, tracking and evaluation. A uniform approach to projects gets embedded in the organisation.
To further improve the projects office an Enterprise Project Management (EPM) system can be implemented to automate the PM process. This brings in “close to real time” reporting on projects, dashboard reporting, host to project lifecycle processes and other benefits. There are a number of these EPM solutions in the market, but it’s highly important that the solution matches well with the maturity of the organization.
I have seen many instances where complex applications are deployed which quickly become underutilized due to poor readiness by the organisation.
So, if you are a Senior Manager in your organisation, reflect on your approach to projects and whether projects have delivered the required benefits.
Implementing a Project Support Office remains the best start in organisations in leveraging project management for smarter execution of organizational strategies. The Project Management discipline, if correctly applied, allows organsiations to do more with less, which has become a post economic crisis imperative.
In the next article we will discuss the different methodologies in project management that are used globally.
*Oabona Kgengwenyane is the Director for InnoLead Consulting and X-Pert Group offering Management Consulting Services and can be contacted on 3909102 or 71303682,
Plot 130, Unit 2, Nkwe Square, Gaborone International Finance Park.
